Why does a fan get noisier?

[DaFunkyUnit]

I have a 60mm fan as exhaust at the back. When first assembled the comp, it runs pretty quiet. Now, almost 4 months later, the fan sounds like a motor. Is there a way to make the fan quiet again? i dunno, like grease the bearings or something?

my 80mm intake is still running solid, but the 60mm is really irritating me (it also came w/ the case, which may be why it sucks so much)

[Showtime]

Sounds (pun!) like you got a bad fan. Usually they last for a while (2+ years) without making more noise. If there is a lot of dust and stuff it gets into the fan and cause friction.
Is there anything blocking air flow?

My ps fan is too loud. It's louder than my tt volc7+ @medium and my video card. I'm thinking of paying for one of those silent 400 watt ps. It'll be totally worth it for some silent surfing.

-jel:halo:

[Tommy Boomfiger]

Originally posted by the jello is jigglin
My ps fan is too loud. It's louder than my tt volc7+ @medium and my video card. I'm thinking of paying for one of those silent 400 watt ps. It'll be totally worth it for some silent surfing.

-jel:halo: jel, if your ps is good enough to keep, you can just pop open your ps and remove the old fan and replace it with a new one. just solder it on and youre done

[attgig]

try getting some canned air and blowing excess dirt/dust from it..
that usually helps a LOT for me (although, never returns to that ultra quiet state.

[Bires]

Some fans DO get louder as a manufacturing defect. As the fan spins, if it's off balance, it will wear away at the cam that holds the bearings. This causeses the fan to becomes more and more off balance, increasing the noise, as friction builds up and vibration translates through the fan's housing as audible noise.

[DaFunkyUnit]

thanks for the input. I'll tinker around with the fan when i have time (right now, i just disconnected the its power). Or, i might just look into getting a new fan altogether. Maybe one of those Vantec Stealth ones or something...

[Showtime]

Originally posted by Tommy Boomfiger
jel, if your ps is good enough to keep, you can just pop open your ps and remove the old fan and replace it with a new one. just solder it on and youre done

Thanks, I never thought of that. Its a coedgen case/300wt ps that I got from AM for like $30 last year. I need to just finish my antec case, but I might try to switch the fan out in the mean time.

-jel:halo: